


in your arms, i'll stay

by elinciacrimea



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 16:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elinciacrimea/pseuds/elinciacrimea
Summary: Ami and Mako return home after a difficult battle. For Femslash February.





	in your arms, i'll stay

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for medical content, discussion of injuries, and safe/medically appropriate use of painkillers. Nothing is explicit or graphic, just trying to be careful.

The midnight sky is a serene, unbroken blanket over Tokyo, and the balmy summer air is filled with the buzzing sounds of cicadas. Two streaks of light cut across the velvet; if one looks carefully, one might see that one is a pale green and the other an even paler blue. If one looked still more carefully, one might see the two glowing arcs leading towards a nondescript apartment building in the Juuban District.

The two streaks land, a little roughly, on a balcony laden with blooming plants and flowers. One pot wobbles dangerously as feet hit the ground beside it, but it perseveres, staying upright.

The taller of the two figures lets out a ragged sigh.

"You okay?" the smaller figure whispers, looking up at her companion. She has an arm tightly around the taller woman's waist.

"...Yeah." Mako sucks in a deep breath. "Just a little unsteady."

"A little?" Ami squints up at her girlfriend. "Please don't try to hide your pain, Mako."

Mako sighs again, shifting her footing slightly, leaning heavily on Ami, squeezing an arm more tightly around the smaller woman's shoulder. "It's not so bad. I'm already feeling better."

"You always say that. But - "

A tree branch sways, illuminating the balcony in moonlight, throwing both women into sharp relief. Ami gets a good look at Mako for the first time in several minutes, and entirely forgets what she was going to say. Mako's body is covered with small scrapes and bruises, her sailor uniform is tattered and dirty, and her hair has half-fallen from its usual ponytail, hanging in her face. Worse, blood is leaking slowly from a particularly harsh abrasion on her forehead, and a terrible gash has been cut across her back. But worst of all, Ami thinks, is Mako's expression - her entire face is pinched with the pain she is trying to hide.

Mako catches a glimpse of Ami's horrified face, and forces a small, tight smile. "It'll be okay. I've got a great doctor. What were you saying?"

Ami internally shakes herself. "Just...that we should get inside. Anyone could see us. It's just a few steps to the door."

"Right." Mako sets her jaw in an expression Ami is achingly familiar with - stubborn, determined, and resigned. "Let's go, then."

Ami reaches up to hold Mako's arm in place around her shoulders, tightening the other around Mako's waist. Mako holds on, and they begin the achingly slow march forward. They reach the glass door, and Ami releases Mako's arm to punch a code into the keypad with a shaking hand; it beeps and the door slides open.

"Only you would install an automatic balcony door," Mako mumbles into the top of Ami's head.

"It's been handy, though, hasn't it?" They cross the threshold into the darkened apartment, and the glass whooshes shut behind them. Ami fumbles for the light switch and finds it, flooding the small living room with light and making both women squint.

"Should I leave you on the couch, or do you think you can make it into the bathroom?" Ami asks.

"I'm not getting blood on that pattern, I worked hard on it! Bathroom, please."

Ami obliges, and they continue their slow, halting march forward, past the aforementioned floral-patterned sofa, past the brimming shelves of books, past the wall of pictures of five grinning girls, past the elaborate and rather hideous credenza Usagi had gotten Mako for her nineteenth birthday and she'd never had the heart to throw away. They enter the bedroom, making it around the bed and, finally, into the apartment's tiny bathroom.

Ami lowers Mako onto the closed toilet lid, and the latter sits with a sigh and a rather wobbly grin. "Made it."

Ami is already rummaging in the bathroom cabinet, pulling out a well-stocked plastic box. When they moved in, people had commented on how many first aid supplies Ami kept - one kit in every room, all fully stocked. One of those people had been her mother, whose voice Ami can still hear ringing in her head - "Dear, just because you're a medical student doesn't mean you need to be quite so conscientious! You'll never need most of this."

Well, she hadn't known.

Usagi and Minako and Rei, though - they'd never said a word.

Ami flips on the bathroom lights and steps back to look at Mako in the light. The injuries are frightening-looking, certainly, but not nearly as bad as they'd be on an ordinary human - something Ami mentally repeats as a mantra, every time something like this happens. Still, it's a dreadful sight. Few parts of Mako _aren't_ bruised.

Mako gives her another forced smile. "Hey, it's the job. I've been through worse."

The smell of ice and ozone and _worse_ curls in Ami's nostrils, unbidden, but she forces it away. That was years ago, a lifetime ago. Mako is fine. Mako is alive. They're all fine. They're all alive.

"Yes, you certainly have," Ami says at last. She lifts her own hands, and in a small swirl of pale blue water-ribbons, the white gloves of her uniform vanish. Ami replaces them with a set from a box under the sink, the thick snap of latex breaking the quiet in the bathroom. Flexing her fingers, Ami moves around to stand at Mako's side with a clear view of her back. "The bleeding still hasn't stopped - I'm going to get this clean and stitched up, okay? It'll hurt."

"'Kay." Mako grits her teeth. "Go for it."

Ami sets about cleaning the wound. Once the initial assessment is over, and the real work begins, her mind is always able to slide into a comfortable, monotone pattern. Something is wrong, but she can fix it if she only does this, applies this, and moves _this_. Her motions are rhythmic and assured, and the sound of her anxious heartbeat fades in her ears.

Ami loses track of time, but when she straightens up again, her back and knees are aching with fatigue. Mako's wound is neat and clean now, covered in a thick layer of bandages.

"You done?" Mako grunts out. She barely made a sound of pain through the whole thing - partially due to her powers, partially just due to Mako.

"With your back, yes." Ami shakes her hands to get some feeling into them. "Let me clean up your face, too."

Quiet falls in the bathroom again as Ami works, her hands gentle but sure and steady. Mako keeps her eyes closed as Ami's fingers run across her face. A small hiss escapes her at the cold burn of ointment and disinfectant.

"Okay?" Ami murmurs.

"Yep." Mako swallows; Ami can feel her forehead muscles tightening. "Um, Ami...you're not mad at me, are you?"

"I'm not," says Ami softly, and entirely honestly. "I always wish you would be more careful, but I understand why you did what you did."

"That thing would have cut Usagi in half."

"Probably. I would have done the same thing you did." Ami sighs as she continues her ministrations. "Either way...I'm glad you're both safe. I just worry that one day, you won't be."

"We've talked about that."

"I know. I know." Ami covers a cut on Mako's cheek with a bandaid. "It doesn't stop me worrying."

"I worry about it too, Ami," Mako's voice is hardly above a whisper. Her hand comes up to rest over Ami's, and Ami looks into her girlfriend's eyes, blue into green. Mako rubs her thumb over Ami's gloved hand. "But it's gonna be fine. You know that."

"I do." Ami swallows hard.

"I won't die on you. Not again, not ever. Okay? Besides…" A slightly mischievous grin spreads across Mako's split lips. "Even if I get hurt, I know this really great doctor."

Ami presses her own lips together, her cheeks reddening. She resists the urge to duck her head, instead teasing back. "Really? I thought she was only a student."

"Great future doctor. Best future doctor in Japan. In the whole _world_."

"Now you're just being silly."

"Am I?" Mako raises her eyebrows, then winces slightly as her injuries are jostled. "I don't think so."

"Just hold still, please." Ami shakes her head, smiling as she moves from Mako's face to her arms. She works for several more minutes in quiet.

It's Ami who breaks the silence, kneeling at Mako's side for better access to her scraped-up knees. "No matter what…"

"Mm?"

"We'll still be…" Ami bites her lip. "You know, together. Right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just…you made me think about the future." Ami keeps her eyes trained on the cut she is cleaning. "If...if it's all true, we'll be alive...for a long time. And one day, people won't even know our real names."

"Yeah. What brought this on?"

"Just...I don't want to lose this. Us." Ami can't bring herself to look at Mako's face. "We're supposed to be soldiers. We're supposed to guard the queen. We're not supposed to be anything else..."

"Hey. Look at me, okay?"

Ami does. Mako is staring at her, with so much intensity that Ami feels nailed to the floor.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere. In any way. Destiny can make up its own mind. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"But…"

Mako shrugs. "No matter who we are or where we are, we'll still be ourselves. I think we're both too stubborn not to be."

Ami releases a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get too heavy, but…"

Mako rests a hand on Ami's head, stroking her hair. "Don't worry about it. I think about it too. But I don't think there's any point worrying. I'm not leaving you, and you're not leaving me. The rest can work itself out."

"You always make things seem so simple, and I make them too complicated," Ami murmurs, leaning into Mako's hand.

"Maybe you're too smart for your own good."

"You're probably right...anyway, I'm done." Ami stands up, looking over Mako.

Mako quirks an eyebrow. "With me, you mean? Get yourself patched up too."

"It's just a few bruises, right?" Ami looks herself over in the mirror.

"Still, the best doctors look after themselves too, right?" Mako smiles innocently.

"Fine, fine." Ami leans over the sink as she cleans herself up. "You're right."

"'Course I am." Mako is examining the bandages on her arms. "Think I can get away with telling the boss that I fell through a glass door again?"

Ami whips around, eyes narrowed in a piercing glare normally only reserved for monsters, evil overlords of chaos, and those unkind to children. "You are _not_ going to work tomorrow."

Mako is one of the few not intimidated by that glare. "Aw, Ami…"

"I mean it! Just call in and tell them you're ill."

"But…" Mako pouts. "I don't want to lose this job…"

"Ms. Mayako won't fire you over calling in sick once," says Ami. Her icy gaze is still fixed on Mako. "You're taking tomorrow off. Doctor's orders."

"...All right," Mako relents. "But I can work the next day, right?"

"We'll talk about that tomorrow." Ami is returning her supplies to their plastic box, carefully taking inventory of how many cotton swabs and bandages remain in it. "For now, I'll go get you something for the pain, and you'll get a good night's sleep."

Mako stretches, wincing a little. "That does sound nice." A crack of green lightning streaks through the room, and when it fades, Mako's rather tattered sailor uniform has been replaced by a green sundress and wicker sandals. "It's always better to get the cleanup done in uniform. I didn't want to mess up this dress."

Water-ribbons surround Ami's small frame as she kneels in front of the bathroom cabinet to stow away the last of her things. When they fade, she is left in her own simple blouse and jeans. "Mm. Do you need help getting into the bedroom?"

"Just an arm, please." Mako rises carefully from her seat with Ami's help, and they return to the bedroom. Mako sits down on the edge of the bed, squeezing Ami's hand as she lets go. "Where would I be without you?"

"I could ask the same," says Ami with a smile. She leaves the bedroom, walking into the cozy, well-stocked kitchen. The soft tick of Mako's mother's cuckoo clock plays an accompaniment to the gentle thumps of Ami opening a cabinet and taking out a bottle of painkillers. Ami glances at the cat-a-month calendar hanging on the fridge before filling a glass from the sink and returning to the bedroom.

"Two of these now," Ami instructs, handing Mako both glass and pills, "and another two when you wake up in the morning, okay? That should make things easier on you."

Mako gulps down the pills. "Gotcha, Dr. Mizuno."

"I just checked, I've got clinicals tomorrow," says Ami, "so you'll be on your own. I can text around and see if someone can come check on you, or I can try and take the day off - "

Mako waves a hand. "Nah, no need for that. I'll send you a few check in texts though, if it'll keep you from worrying."

"Fair enough," says Ami, returning Mako's glass to the nightstand. "We should get to bed, though. It's late."

"Gotcha. If you bring a nightgown over here, I can put it on while sitting."

Ami obliges, and there is only the soft rustle of clothing for the next few minutes as they both change. As Ami is pulling her Juuban Med sweatshirt over her head, her phone chimes from the top of the dresser.

"It's Usagi," says Ami, shaking out her hair as she picks up the phone. "She wants to know if you're all right."

"...How many emojis did she use?"

"Nine. Two crying faces, three worried faces, two tears, and two more crying faces."

"Uh oh."

"I'm telling her you're going to be fine and we're going to bed now so you can get your rest. And a few little hearts and a smiley face," Ami adds, thumbs flying over the phone screen.

Mako lies back on the bed with a grunt, taking her hair down. "She'll probably come over with apology dumplings tomorrow."

"Most likely. She knows the code in, after all."

"All the less reason for you to worry."

Ami comes around to the bed and crawls in next to Mako, tugging the covers up and over them both. "I'll still worry."

"I know." Mako reaches out and slips an arm around Ami, drawing her close. She presses a kiss to Ami's forehead. "I know."

Ami buries her face in Mako's shoulder, drawing in a breath. "I love you, you know."

"Of course I do."

"I just wanted to make sure."

"I love you too. It'll all be okay. I'll make sure of it."

"You're so dependable."

Mako winks. "I know."

They fall asleep that way, curled together in the darkness.

One day, maybe, they will only be Mercury and Jupiter, soldiers in a kingdom built from crystal, and anything more will have been lost to eternity.

But not tonight.

Tonight, though, they are together.

There's little else that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> Title - Kina Grannis, "In Your Arms"
> 
> Thank you for reading! Also, if you noticed the tiny references to a couple of anime episodes/movies, you get a misshapen rabbit cookie :)


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